Rocking the End of the Roll

Menu

Breakfast Blend: Fleetwood Mac, “Underway/Show Biz Blues”

Among a zillion brilliant refugees from John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, John McVie (bass) and Mick Fleetwood (drums) started a great blues band right around the same place and time that the Stones were forming and playing under the same aegis of Brian Jones’ love for American Rhythm and Blues.

Augmented by guitarists Jeremy Spencer, and the brilliant Peter Green, and then joined by Danny Kirwin as a third guitar player, the Mac produced a handful of killer pop tunes that slowly started to move towards mainstream. Two albums, Fleetwood Mac and Mr. Wonderful preceded the iconic Then Play On which featured Green’s equally iconic Oh Well, Parts I and II.

Then Play On featured a great variety of killer songs, and this one, Show Biz Blues really drives home the guitar band’s focus.

But, after the release of Then Play On, leader and guitar player supreme Peter Green (check out how much Carlos Santana plucked from Green’s style) left due to deteriorating mental and physical health, and McVie’s wife, Christine joined the band as they put together arguably the most beautiful homage to 50’s rock, Kiln House ever recorded in my meager view. And, this cut, Station Man pretty much defines the period.

Then came the dull Bob Welch years, but following the departure of the guitarist/Dodgers pitcher, Buckingham/Nicks joined and though not so much true to the original vision of Green, the band still killed on some great pop tunes and produced their biggest and most accessible album, Rumors which gave us this killer tune with great Lindsey Buckingham guitar pyrotechnics complementing McVie’s and Fleetwood’s ever steady rhythm section.